A Smile for the Holidays
by Chaerinnie
Summary: The reclusive Cullens try to be nicer to the humans by simply smiling. Little do they know that a little smile goes a long way. Edward/Demi. Christmas Fic. Au.


**A/N: Hi guys! It's been a while, but I promise that I'm working on other fanfictions. As for "Hollywood Isn't What It's Cut Out To Be", I know I said that I was getting you that chapter soon. Clearly, that didn't happen. And I'm going to postpone it to the weekend after the 11****th**** of January. That's kind of a long wait and I'm sorry if you keep updated with the story, but it's the last chapter and I had to make it special.**

**Here's a Demi/Edward Christmas one-shot for you guys. I truly hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>The end of the term was drawing nearer and so was Christmas. At Forks High School, almost everyone was feeling the Christmas spirit. They pulled Christmas pranks on one another, told Christmas jokes, sang carols and played games like secret Santa. It didn't matter their age; having fun was ageless. The Cullens would know, they were after all some of the oldest people in the world, not that their appearance gave anything away, because to everyone else, they looked like normal teenagers.<p>

They were few of a handful of students who didn't seem to care for… anything. To Edward Masen, who'd observed them carefully (especially Demi who he'd taken a liking to) since they'd arrived in Forks two years ago, they seemed to know so much; their eyes revealed how much they'd been through.

The way they spoke, the way they acted it was all so much more sophisticated than anyone he'd ever met. Granted, Demi was the only one he really spoke to and that was most likely because they were biology partners and it would have been awkward if they didn't speak at all. Sometimes when they talked, she'd use phrases that were long forgotten and just the simple structure of her sentences was… old.

No matter how impossible it seemed, Edward believed that they were older than their looks led people to believe, much older. So why would they spend their time celebrating Christmas when they'd probably celebrated dozens already. Simple, they wouldn't. And they didn't.

But Edward couldn't be more wrong. The Cullens all loved Christmas and celebrated it each year; they simply never saw the need to celebrate it with human presences. At home, they were completely different than they were in school where they were thought to be reclusive.

Home, they loved to play in the snow and have snowball fights, but they could all agree that their favorite Christmas activity was hunting as a family. They'd usually turn it into a game to see who could catch the biggest prey or who could catch the most. The results always varied which always made things interesting.

However, in school, they were sullen. The sullen Cullens as some called them, of course not to their faces. If one thing was clear to any human student at that school, it was that the Cullens didn't associate outside of their family, so anyone outside of their family didn't associate with the Cullens unless necessary. It was an unspoken agreement. An agreement that Alice Cullen hated.

So in an attempt to be friendlier to humans, she'd convinced them to give everyone who made eye contact with them a smile. Rosalie and Jasper were opposed to this at first, not liking the idea one bit. But when their other halves convinced them that it was a good idea and, according to Emmett, the looks on their victims' faces would be priceless. That made them agree quickly.

So here they were, sitting at their lunch table, giving smiles to everyone who passed by them.

"Didn't he just pass?" Demi asked the others as she caught sight of Mike Newton. "Like three times already?"And in fact he did, which made them laugh.

After Mike had gone back to his table to tell all his friends, more and more people started walking by the Cullens tables to see if what Mike said was true. Then, when they realized it was true, they practically ran back to their own tables to tell everyone else and soon almost everyone had to pass by the Cullens table 'to get something', as they claimed.

"You'd swear we were the Royal family the way they're acting," Rosalie muttered.

"See," Alice began, a smugness about her that didn't suit her innocent face. "A simple smile can brighten someone's day!"

"Who died and made you Ms. Rainbows and Sunshine?" Rosalie arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her sister.

Alice huffed and folded her arms, leaning back in her seat.

"Aw, Allie, do you need a _smile_?" Demi questioned her teasingly, throwing an arm around her shoulder.

Just then, Renesmee and Bella Swan walked up to their table, stopping before the Cullens. This was going to be interesting. Normally, everyone would simply pass by, but no one ever stopped to chat.

"Merry Christmas," they greeted the family, looking awkward but determined.

"A bet," Jasper whispered as he caught on to them immediately. Only his family would be able to hear him because of their sensitive hearing.

"Time to play," Emmett said softly to the others who silently agreed.

They knew of this game all too well. It was like they were some freak show act, the way everyone would stare at them. But for someone to talk to one of the Cullens, that was dynamite for the humans.

"Hi, Hella," Rosalie greeted, with a fake happy attitude. "Hi, rem-in-ae-may."

Both sisters flushed and shifted awkwardly at Rosalie's obvious mispronunciation of their names. _Good_, Rosalie thought.

"Um, it's _Renesmee_ and _Bella_." And just when they thought Bella Swan couldn't go anymore red.

"That's what I said," Rosalie insisted.

Demi quietly excused herself from the table to head over to the lunch line. Lunch was almost over, but they hadn't gotten any lunch yet. Though it wasn't as if they were going to eat it, they needed to keep up with pretenses. Besides, she knew that she'd get a rundown on what happened later.

The line was empty, so she took her time in choosing her food today, opting for the ones that looked the best because none of the human food smelled very appetizing.

"Are you going to just stand there and admire the food?" a velvety voice asked jokingly from beside her. It was Edward; she knew his voice quite well from the many times they talked in biology.

"Hey, Edward," she smiled at him. She was used to smiling at him and didn't do it simply because of what Alice had said. He was one of those rare people that were genuine and kind. But when it came down to it, he spoke his mind and he disagreed with people. She admired that. Of course, it only helped that he was quite handsome, even for a human.

"So it's true, huh?"

"What's true?"

"I heard you and your family are giving away free smiles for Christmas," he informed her. "I'm shocked that I wasn't the first one you gave a smile to."

She rolled her eyes at him. She knew him well enough to know that he was only joking. "It was all Alice's doing. We're never really mingling with anyone outside of our circle so she thought it would be a great way to start."

"Why couldn't you guys just sing carols, I'm sure everyone would love that, especially Mike Newton."

She gave him a look that said 'not going to happen', before paying for her lunch and waiting on Edward.

"So what are you doing for the holidays?" She inquired, genuinely curious, when Edward caught up with her.

"Nothing, really… just staying home and eating leftovers with my dad. How about you?"

"Gift giving and snowball fights," she answered.

"You forgot singing carols," he reminded.

"And singing carols," she amended.

"Sounds good, though. Better than mine, I could tell ya that."

"Are you jealous?"

"Very."

"Or are you just trying to get me to invite you over?" She was onto him and he knew it from the start. Demi was a very intelligent girl.

"That depends…"

"On…?" she prodded.

"Is it working?"

"No."

"Well then, no. I wasn't trying to do that," he concluded, making her laugh. He loved that he could make such a beautiful sound come from such a beautiful creature. It was something he wanted to do all the time. "But, now that we're talking about it, why don't you invite me over?"

"Nope, you'll be fine."

"Please?"

"No."

He full-on pouting now. She silently acknowledged the fact that it made him look cute, something that didn't happen often. She knew he was gorgeous and handsome and had god-like features, but she'd never really seen him looking _cute_. She liked it, though. Maybe even more than she should.

"Please?"

She sighed. "I'm not even going to be here for the holidays, Edward. My family and I are going to visit some cousins in Alaska."

"I love snow!" He knew that she'd turn him down again, but it was still worth a try. And there was also the fact that he simply loved talking to her. Not because she was considered 'reclusive', but because she was fun to be around.

"Nice try." She wasn't having it, Edward noted with disappointment. Sensing his sadness, she suddenly felt very sorry, knowing that she was the cause of it all. "But, how about I make it up to you? Tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do."

"Are there any limits to this?" He had to be sure, because he was already certain of what he wanted.

"None, anything you want."

"Anything, huh?" He tried to figure how to say the words. Was he to simply blurt them out as if they were talking about the weather or take her somewhere privately? He decided that the first was quicker and it was best to just get it over with. "Go on a date with me."

"What?" she couldn't help but ask, though she heard him clearly. She'd been asked out on dates by _many_ boys. But things were different now, simply because _this_ boy wasn't like any other boy, he was important to her.

"Go on a date with me, just one date," Edward pleaded, hating that he sounded so desperate, but he was smitten with her. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that he was practically head over heels for her, not yet at least. But he'd tell her eventually.

It was said that the greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how they love them when they're alive. To Edward, those words never sounded truer than in that moment then.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Edward. I-" he cut her off.

"Demi, please just give me the chance to… to just be with you. And if you hate it, you wouldn't ever have to talk to me again. I'll make myself scarce-" This time she cut him off.

"I wouldn't want you to do that, Edward," she said, sadly and a bit angry that he thought she would even entertain the idea of avoiding him. "Outside of my family, you're my best friend. Why would you even suggest leaving? That would hurt me a lot… so trust me when I say that we just _can't_ go out."

He ran his hands through his hair. It was always something he did when he was frustrated, she noted.

"Come." He took her cold hand and swiftly pulled her out of the cafeteria and away from prying eyes, leading her to the school's abandoned music room on the other end of the building, their lunch forgotten. Dust crowded the place, resting on every surface visible, and barely any light brightened the room, but they didn't mind. They were somewhere private, that mattered most.

"Please explain, Demi."

She explained… _something_. _Anything_ really that came to her mind once it connected to what she had previously said. She loathed the idea of lying to Edward, but had she any other choice? She couldn't put her family's life in danger by just telling Edward they were vampires. She couldn't put _his_ life in danger that way. So she lied and lied and lied. It tore her up inside, but she had to do it, for everyone's safety.

She was shocked, to say the least, that Edward believed her so easily. She was quite skilled when it came to lying, but she had hoped that he would've caught on to her bluff. Yet, another part of her was grateful because she knew that if he'd have gotten it out of her, the whole Cullen family would have to move and start over elsewhere. She wanted to stay here so she did what she could.

That's how everything was settled. _It was a good day_, she thought to herself. _A very good day, indeed._ She hadn't lost her best friend and she now had a date scheduled for Saturday. Maybe she should start celebrating Christmas more in school.

"Demi!" Edward called out when she was making her leave (the bell had already gone, signaling the start of their afternoon classes).

Hand on the already opened door, Demi turned back to face him. "Yeah?"

Nothing could've prepared her for what happened next. One minute Edward was standing about ten feet away from her, the next space had vanished from between them as Edward pressed his warm, soft lips to her cold, hard ones. The kiss was sweet and nice and had Edward blushing when he pulled back, suddenly interested in the floor pattern. Demi knew that if she was human she would've blushed, too.

"What was that for?" she questioned. She wasn't opposed to it, it had just surprised her.

Edward pointed about both of their heads where a mistletoe sat on the door's frame. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Demi wondered why she hadn't seen that she when he brought her in, but pushed the thought aside, transfixed on the kiss. "Mistletoe." And that was Edward's only explanation before he took off down the halls, leaving Demi standing there, staring after him.

He couldn't believe that he worked up the courage to do that, but there was no doubt in his mind that he liked it.

Back by the music room, Demi slowly shook her head as if you rib her mind of the fuzziness the kiss had brought. When she recovered, she headed off to English, a smile perched upon her lips as she left.

Yep, she was definitely going to start celebrating Christmas in school more often.

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><p><strong>Happy Holidays!<strong>


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